Acid House Scrapes & Capers. 20 years of Boys Own.
Book released 24th Sept
CD Release 21 Sept

“It was all about E’s and Whizz for most clubbers – but we were different it wasn’t like that for JBO, it was more about Hedonism in a nice shirt”. Steve Hall.

If you are unfortunate enough to be under 30 then you may never have heard of Boys Own, or Junior Boys Own (JBO) as their record label were fondly called. Just as Knuckles at The Warehouse and Levan at The Paradise Garage can be credited with kick-starting the House revolution in the US, the JBO crew were instrumental in establishing the underground movement in the UK. They ran the first documented outdoor Acid House parties and were the first people to put a bouncy castle next to a DJ booth. They existed as the cornerstone to contemporary clubbing culture in London. These four young men – Terry Farley, Andy Weatherall, Steve Maize and Cymon Eckles – literally set the scene for you to dance.

“Junior Boys Own; a label that not only defined what British dance music actually sounded like but also what it should sound like. These are not just great records, or even great house records, but they also evoke something that is embedded in British culture.”
Bill Brewster

If you’re into The Chemical Brothers, Underworld, X-Press 2 or Andrew Weatherall then you owe these guys a big debt of gratitude. Artists that went on to international superstardom cut their teeth on the label by being part of the scene, learning their skills and perfecting their sound. This was the label that started the transformation of some of the most celebrated DJs and producers in the world from geeky club kids to the titanic artists that they became.

“Everyone signed to JBO were either our good friends or friends of friends, or they were clubbers; Ed and Tom (Chemical Bros) were just kids who went to ‘Most Excellent’ in Manchester; Darren Emerson was a DJ at the Milk Bar on a Monday Night; Xpress2 – Rocky and Diesel were just two kids from Hayes who were faces – young kids who were at ‘Charlie Chester’s Flying night.” 
Terry Farley

This was an organisation run by clubbers, for clubbers. They even had their own legendary fanzine ‘Boys Own’ which you are now lucky enough to be holding. It was a ‘do it yourself’ publication packed with out-there humour, attitude, politics and musical integrity. It’s this fanzine that embodied their obsessions with clubbing, DJs, football, funk and Socialism. It was this fanzine that published the first article about Acid House in late 1987. It was called ‘Bermondsey Goes Balearic’ and was written by a then young Paul Oakenfold.
Insert para about the book


So why are we telling this you might reasonably ask? Well, they collective are celebrating their 20th birthday in 2009. All those kids that were involved in their 20’s have now grown up, but the spirit of the era lives on for them, and the music is available to whole new generation of clubbers and dance music fans alike.

From their first release Bocca Juniors ‘Raise’ (63 Steps to Heaven) who’s video was shot by Whizz, the infamous director of ‘Weekender’, through to Terry Farleys re-rub of Primal Screams ‘Loaded’ and their release of DSK ‘What Would We Do’ recently borrowed by Wiley for his chart smashing ‘Wearing My Rolex’ .

Look out too for Underworld ‘Mmm… Skyscraper I Love You’ and The Chemical Brothers ‘Leave Home’, both early releases from the bands, showing their emerging talent.

Listening back to the many JBO releases, you will see that these are not just great records, but tunes that defined an era.

Want to have sneak preview? Have a listen at the D-Store